Astros: The Yankees trade for Zach Britton to foil the Astros plans

There may be a snag in the Astros trade deadline plans.

While they have been reportedly, “all in” for Zach Britton, there may be a change in the Orioles thinking. There has been a lot of chatter surrounding the Astros and Britton. They were never the frontliner for Britton, but maybe the best fit. The problem may be the Astros reluctance to trade their top three prospects.

This was confirmed today by Jayson Stark, who said the Astros have been unwilling to trade Forrest Whitley or Yordan Alvarez. While he did not mention Kyle Tucker, he is on the 25-man roster at the moment. With their reluctance to trade those three, they may not be able to trade for that additional piece. The Astros may not need Britton, but a trade could have also prevented him from landing with a competitor.

Like the New York Yankees.

Over the past 24 hours, the Yankees and Astros have reportedly sweetened their offers for the left-handed reliever Britton. However, according to Jon Heyman, the talks have increased with one of their top prospects being scratched. That would be Dillon Tate, a right-handed starting pitcher the Yankees got from the Rangers.

While a deal is not official, there are many reports that the Orioles are on the verge of trading Britton. If he does indeed go to the Yankees, that will make their bullpen elite. The Yankees are loading up for the playoffs. They will have to go through Houston and Red Sox to get to the World Series.

Andy Martillo suggests that Tate would be the headliner of a Britton trade. He also said that the other prospects could be involved as well. MLB Pipeline ranks Tate as the 9th top prospect in the Yankees farm system. This is not the same as the Indians trade for Brad Hand, where they traded their top catching prospect in Francisco Mejia.

If this is the case, the options are running thin for the Astros.

Raisel Iglesias could be a more expensive option from the Reds, but he will cost more than a rental. Kyle Barraclough would also cost a lot with team control. With up to six teams fighting for Britton, the Astros did not pony up enough to get the deal done.

Next: Astros ‘all in’ to acquire Zach Britton according to rumors

We will see what the next several days produce, but the Britton obsession by the Astros has now ended. The Yankees have traded for Britton, per Jon Heyman. The Astros can now move on to other options, who do you think they target now?